Safe and Sound (Ianthony)
by smoshersnorlax
Summary: Ian is in some need of cheering up. Teenage Ianthony.


The hands on the clock were moving so slowly that it felt like time was moving backwards, if that were possible. Just twenty minutes left until the bell. Then more lessons and more work. Ian sighed to himself and rested his head on the desk. Things hadn't been going great lately, to say the least. All he wanted to do was curl up in a ball and sleep for the next few decades until everything stopped going wrong.

He was distracted from his depressing train of thought when the teacher placed his homework on the desk. The big red F on the page stared at him, burning into his retinas. Now, he wasn't exactly one to get overly stressed about his grades but an F? English was one of the few subjects he actually liked and now it seemed he couldn't even do that right anymore. His hand automatically clenched into a fist and it took an extreme amount of self-control not to screw up the paper right there and then. It wasn't fair. How come the people who barely even study and don't even like the subject manage to get the good grades? He had the feeling that someone was watching him and turned his head to the side to see Anthony shooting him a concerned glance. Anthony raised his eyebrows, silently asking if he was okay. Ian shook his head at him. No, he wasn't okay. Things hadn't been okay for a while now. Ian turned his eyes back to the graded paper in front of him and tried to appear as if he was listening as the teacher droned on about how to improve in the future. It was always the same; your best is never good enough. End of story.

When the bell signalling the end of class finally went, Ian was one of the first ones out of the door. He waited outside the classroom for Anthony who, when he finally showed up, took one look at Ian and led him in the opposite direction to their next lesson. Ian didn't even have to question where they were going. By now it was kind of a regular occurrence. Something happened, his mood dropped, and Anthony was there when he needed to let off some steam.

They exited through the doors that led to the bike shed behind the school and Ian inhaled the fresh air gratefully. He never really noticed how suffocating the school atmosphere was until he stepped outside. Groaning, Ian rested his fists against the wall and hung his head. "Is it just me, or am I getting dumber?" he asked, although he didn't really expect Anthony to answer that. He relaxed a little when he felt the comforting touch of Anthony's hand on the back of his neck.

"Don't say that," Anthony said softly. He always hated it when Ian was so down on himself like that.

Ian sighed again and turned around so he was facing forward. "I don't know, it's just…when I do actually try, things just get worse. You know I'm practically failing everything right now, don't you?" Anthony nodded. "I don't know what I'm gonna do. Not to mention that mom and dad are constantly arguing and it's impossible to hear myself think anymore."

Curving his arm around Ian's waist, Anthony pulled him in for a hug. Ian didn't need him to say anything; he just needed him to be there and actually listen. "Dad's been talking about moving out soon," Ian mumbled, his lips brushing against his neck. "I guess things are pretty serious."

"I'm really sorry Ian," Anthony whispered, not quite sure what to say. Even though his parents had split up, it had been when he was just a baby so it didn't really affect him. He couldn't imagine how it must feel when your parents have been together for your whole life and the next minute, they're not.

"Me too."

Things went quiet for a moment before Anthony spoke up again. "Do you want to come round to mine tonight?" he asked him.

"You sure your mom won't mind? I've been over a lot lately."  
"Of course not," Anthony replied. "She loves you."

"Well, I do have that effect on people," Ian smirked in spite of everything. "Sounds great."

-x-

Ian perked up considerably once they were at Anthony's house. Of course, the fact that he had finally managed to beat him at Mario Kart definitely helped.

"In your face!" Ian hollered as he passed the finishing line in first place.

"You got lucky," Anthony shot back, earning a laugh from Ian. Wow, he really did not like losing.

"I don't care," he sang happily, bouncing up and down on the mattress.

Anthony's mood didn't last very long however. He couldn't help grinning at how genuinely happy Ian was that he'd managed to beat him at a dumb video game. Ian's bouncing slowed down and he flopped down on the bed next to him. "Hey," Ian said. Anthony turned to look at him. "Thanks for putting up with my shit."

Anthony frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I know I've been a lot of hassle lately and I'm sorry, I guess-

His words were cut off as Anthony placed a gentle kiss on his lips. "I'm not putting up with anything," Anthony said, giving him a reassuring smile. "I love you, okay?"

Ian blushed and looked away. Sure, they're said the 'L' word before but it was still a rare occurrence for one of them to actually say it out loud. "I love you too," he replied, biting his lip. As Anthony leaned in to kiss him again, his eyes fluttered shut and he pulled him in closer.

Ian slid his hand under Anthony's shirt which caused him to pull away, giggling. "My mom could walk in at any moment," he explained as he extracted Ian's hands from underneath his shirt.

"Spoilsport," Ian pouted.

"Later," Anthony promised before kissing him again.

"Mom says dinner's ready," the door burst open and Anthony's little brother, Matthew, stood there. They abruptly broke apart, jumping to opposite ends of the bed.

"Okay, er, thanks," Anthony said, clearly flustered as he adjusted his clothing.

Instead of leaving like Anthony had hoped, Matthew continued to stand in the doorway, as if he was trying to work out what he just saw. "Were you and Ian kissing?"

"Um…yes," Anthony answered, not really knowing how to explain this to him. He was only six after all.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Matthew asked.

"Yeah…" Anthony replied hesitantly.

Matthew tilted his head to the side as he considered this, apparently deep in thought. Finally, he shrugged. "Girls are weird anyway," he said, and disappeared down the hallway.

As soon as he was gone, Ian dissolved into a fit of laughter. "Your brother is the best."

"Mom is gonna kill me," Anthony groaned, covering his face with his hands. No doubt he was going to receive an awkward lecture about being "safe" and all that shit. He had been perfectly fine with avoiding that topic of conversation for the past seventeen years. "Now do you see why I stopped things from going further?"

"Uh-huh, sure," Ian nodded, still giggling at Anthony's expense.

With an exaggerated sigh, Anthony rolled off the bed and held his arm out to pull Ian up. "Come on, we better go eat before dinner gets cold."

"'Girls are weird anyway,'" Ian mimicked Matthew's high-pitched voice, starting up his laughing fit all over again.

"Oh my god, shut up!" Anthony shook his head, although he could see the funny side of things. Hopefully his brother wouldn't say anything to his mom though, otherwise there would be a lot of explaining to do.


End file.
